


you're nothing but moondust

by thatfangirlingfreak



Series: astronomy in reverse (it was me who was discovered) [1]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, Maybe - Freeform, bc I'm a nerd, integrated w parts of the show's canon, is moondust supposed to have a space between it, it's too late now, loads of lil astronomical references, this is more angsty than I expected it to turn out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-26
Updated: 2017-05-26
Packaged: 2018-11-05 00:12:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11001906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatfangirlingfreak/pseuds/thatfangirlingfreak
Summary: If Betty was the sun, the stars, the light in this dark, dismal world, then he wasn't even the moon.Jughead was mere moondust in light of her grand existence.





	you're nothing but moondust

**I. mercury**

Today, their treehouse was a rocket ship.

The trio looked at Jughead's new glow in the dark stars on the ceiling, and immediately their imaginations began to whir.

"Okay, me and Jug are the astronauts. Betty, you can be the alien," Archie stated.

She pouted, crossing her arms. They were covered by a yellow cardigan that reminded Jughead of sunny days and towering sunflowers. "Hey, that's mean! Why should I have to be the alien?"

"Aliens are cool, don't get so upset," The redhead said, taping up some planets Jughead and Betty had drawn together.

"I want to be an astronaut too," She muttered to herself. But Jughead heard every word.

He wanted Betty to get what she wanted.

"I'll be the alien," He offered.

"Really?!" Betty squealed. "Thank you, Juggie!"

"Okay, I guess that works too," Archie shrugged.

She beamed and Jughead had never felt warmer than when she gave him that smile. He wanted her to be happy, no matter if he became alienated in the process.

"You're the sweetest," She said, before kissing his cheek.

He could feel his face burning like a fire. "Anything for you, Betts."

Her smile brought sunbeams to shame, after all.

**II. venus**

Middle school was a difficult time for all three of them. They were stuck between being too young and being too old.

And Jughead and Betty began to realize that Archie was growing up without them.

"I can't believe he's not sitting with us," His blonde friend said bitterly, biting into her sandwich with vengeance.

Jughead nodded, and gave a loud sigh. "I knew he'd leave me for the popular jocks someday. Although I didn't expect you to be left behind with me."

"Why do you say that?" Betty asked, eyebrows furrowed.

"Well, I mean you both have always been more popular than me. Archie's an obvious flirt as well, and you're beautiful, Betty. I expected you two to part ways with me one way or another. Maybe by finding a new clique, dating a few people, or dating each other. Something," He shrugged.

Betty looked bewildered. "You're crazy, Juggie. I would never forget about you like that."

"Good one, Betts."

"Jug, I'm being serious. I care about you too much to just abandon you like that," She said. "Let's make a pact."

This time, he furrowed his eyebrows. "What?"

"We're always going to be best friends."

"Isn't Archie your best friend?"

"Jughead, you're sitting with me. Not him. C'mon, just say it!"

"Fine," He sighed. "We're always going to be best friends."

She grinned. "I knew you'd give in, even if I know you don't believe me. But you're my best friend, sorry about it, Jughead Jones."

Jughead just shook his head, and gave her a small, reluctant smile. He would never vocalize this to her, but for some reason her pact made him feel as though his planets had just aligned.

Maybe they were destined to be, after all. Best friends only, of course.

**III. earth**

Things had become rocky at home for Jughead.

His dad began losing his grasp on reality, and in turn so did his son. His mother kept threatening absence, and his father kept promising without progressing.

Things did not look good.

He wanted to tell Archie or Betty, but what would he say? 'My parents are fucking up and it's fucking me up really bad' just wouldn't do. So he kept quiet, in the shadows.

But Betty knew he was in the dark. She knew exactly how he was feeling, unbeknownst to Jughead.

"I'll catch up with you later, Archie. I'm gonna walk home with Juggie, okay?" She smiled at her friend and bid him goodbye, before approaching the brooding boy.

"Hey, Betts," He said in a voice that sounded distant to his own ears.

"Will you walk me home, Jug?" She asked, and how could he say no to the green galaxies swirling in her eyes?

"Okay."

They walked in silence, both wishing they knew what words were right to string together.

"Juggie..." Betty started, breaking the sound barrier. "How are you feeling? I know you're not acting like yourself."

"I think depressed loner freak is actually how I act all the time, Betty."

"Jughead, stop. Please tell me what's wrong. Or just how you feel, whatever you want to tell me."

He stared up at the dismal grey sky, and for the first time finds no comfort in it. "Everything fucking sucks, Betty. I don't even know what to feel anymore."

When she didn't say anything, he continued.

"I...well, let's just say things aren't the same at home anymore. My parents have always been imperfect people of course, but not like this. It wasn't ever this bad. It's like before they were just sticking bandaids over the parts they couldn't fix and hoping the wounds would heal by some sort of magic, and now they're peeling off and the scars beneath are beginning to open."

She grabbed his hand suddenly, and Jughead felt something course through his veins. It was warm and tingly.

"And my dad keeps saying he'll change, Betty, but he won't! And my mom is hanging on her last thread and talking about leaving...and I don't know what to do," He cries. "I can't stop them and I can't...all I can do is hide in my room and cover Jellybean's ears. This is bigger than me and I can't do anything, Betty! I feel fucking useless and pathetic all the time, and I-"

He cut himself off with a cry, and Betty wrapped her arms around him. He sobbed into the crook of her shoulder as the rain began to come down.

When he pulled back, he saw her. Water droplets dotted her face like freckles, and maybe some tears of her own as well landed there.

"Jughead," She pressed her palms into his. "You are not useless or pathetic, I promise. You are the strongest person I've ever met. But please, don't avoid how you feel. You don't have to be strong all the time to be strong, okay? If you need to talk, I'm there. Don't go through this alone."

"Okay. Thank you so much, Betty."

They walked hand in hand to the Cooper house, and Jughead felt something besides the heavy weight of gravity pulling on his heart.

He felt a thousand little stars dancing between his hand and Betty's, traveling up his arm and creeping into his pulse. They made it beat fast, in time with their music. The stars gave him a little light amongst his soul's dark sky.

But Betty Cooper was a star, and he was nothing but moondust. So he kept quiet.

**IV. mars**

Lunch had always been his favorite part of the day. Nothing could beat being with food and his best friends. (Archie came back to their table by the time eighth grade rolled around.)

Now that they were freshmen though, something had shifted.

Jughead began to notice that Betty absolutely orbited around Archie Andrews, more than ever before.

She sat by his side everyday, and would touch his shoulder or arm for no reason. Her laughter would raise in pitch and volume at even his worst jokes. The blonde ends of her ponytail twisted around her fingertips and her pink bottom lip found a new home between Betty's teeth.

His best friend definitely had a crush on his other best friend. His longtime crush had a crush on his best friend. Christ.

Lunch had become his least favorite part of the day. He felt more insignificant at that table than he did at home, which was truly saying something.

Their trio was down to two, and Jughead was the moon outside their lovely, life-filled Earth.

Or at least, he thought so. Then Archie brought Valerie to their table.

Betty was crushed, and Jughead–even though he was somewhat grateful Archie didn't return her affections–wondered how his friend could be so stupid. How could he not choose her?

The blonde now sat next to him, and whenever her frown got too deep or her eyes dulled too much, Jughead was there. He'd place his hand on her shoulder, and waited until she looked at him and gave him that sad little smile.

Then he would either make a dumb, sarcastic joke or offer her some of his food to cheer her up. She would laugh or gratefully accept his offering.

"You know, I don't think I've ever seen you share food with anyone ever, Jug. Just me," She observed once. Shit, she was onto him.

"Well if I have to share my true love with someone, you're my first choice, Betts," He grinned and gave her a wink.

She laughed, oblivious to the underlying truth of his words. She was the Earth, orbiting around another planet.

He was simply the moon orbiting outside of her, he tried to remind himself.

**V. jupiter**

Everything came crashing down all at once.

His mom and sister were gone, his dad went into a downward spiral, and he moved into the Twilight Drive-In alone. Archie abandoned him, and Betty was out of reach and unavailable miles away.

Jason Blossom's murder was the cherry on top of it all for Jughead.

He started to write about it to release the...something inside him. Betty once told him that when she felt like she had nothing else to turn to, she wrote in her diary. He decided to try her healing process for himself.

He began to type where he left off in order to forget about her. He wished he could stop thinking about her sometimes. She still liked Archie more, and he and Archie were nothing alike. It just wasn't meant to be for them. He needed to let her go.

As one page turned into pages, he felt his spirits lift. Finally, something he could do besides wallow in misery and his mess of thoughts.

Sipping the warmth out of his black coffee, he closed his eyes. He may be in a very black hole at the moment, but he refused to let himself be completely submerged by its depths.

When he opened his eyes, she was there.

"Betty?" Jughead asked, after answering the call. "What...why are you calling?"

"Hello to you too, Jug," She replied. He could hear her eyes rolling. "How are you?"

"Um, semi-alright. What about you, how's the internship going? Is your meeting your literary hero all it's cracked up to be?"

"It's really great, Juggie. I miss you and Archie, though. Also, 'semi-alright'? What's happening?"

"It's nothing to worry about, Betts. You already have so much on your plate..."

"Don't cut me off mister. Let me care about you, Jughead. I know you probably think I don't since I'm gone, but I think about you all the time."

He ignored the red stains on his cheeks. "Thanks, Betts. I'll be fine though, really."

"You're my best friend, Jug. I can tell something's wrong, so please don't bottle it away."

He shut his eyes again, listening to her breathing on the other end. Teetering on the edge of the black hole's precipice. To dive in and sink, or avoid the plunge? That is the question.

"I'm all alone, Betty. You're all I have," He confessed without giving her the whole story. A semi-truth.

"Oh Juggie...I wish I was home," She sighed in frustration.

"Me too."

"Do you want to talk about it? We don't have to, if..."

"I really don't want to talk about it, if that's okay." He was hiding from her. She was opening her gates for him to waltz right through with his trail of darkness, but he couldn't move. Something was holding him back from unraveling for her.

Betty was just so good, he couldn't mess her up. He didn't want her to be dragged into the black hole with him.

"Yeah, that's fine. No worries, Juggie," She said in her soft, familiar voice.

"Okay. Thanks Betty."

"I need to go, Jug. I'll call you again later, okay?" She almost sounded reluctant to leave him, but maybe that was just wishful thinking.

"Sounds good. Bye Betts," He said.

"Goodbye Juggie, don't miss me too much!" She chirped, and he smiled for the first time since this horrific summer began.

Even if he could feel the dark trying to envelop him, Betty Cooper was a beacon of light pulling him back.

**VI. saturn**

When he had seen her cry over Archie's rejection, he felt a piece of himself break. His childhood friend was truly idiotic.

He never thought that rejection would lead to this moment, where he (and she) would put all the pieces back into place.

Jughead Jones was kissing Betty Cooper. And he had initiated the kiss.

They'd grown close over their investigation of Jason Blossom and work at the Blue and Gold, sure, but he did not expect this to come out of it. He didn't even know what possessed him to do it.

Just...the way her green eyes flickered with amusement at Jughead's lack of eloquence like comets dancing in the sky...

He took a risk. He was tired of wishing on shooting stars for his life to turn good. He took action.

"I've wanted to do that for a long time, is that...okay?" He asked as she put on her coat. They were going to look for the car in spite of the rainy weather.

"Wait, do what?" She questioned. Her confused expression was completely adorable, but Jughead would never admit to thinking that. Ever.

"Um, kiss you," He said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

Betty broke into a smile. "You are such a sap, Jughead Jones."

"So...it's okay?"

She stepped towards him, and intertwined their hands. "Yes, it's okay. In fact, it's really cute." He blushed, looking away from her cosmic eyes. "Are you blushing, Juggie?"

"Shut up," He groaned as she giggled. "I hate you."

"No, I don't think you do. Your actions really contradict that statement, no?" She said teasingly.

He rolled his eyes, but she had him roped in and they both knew it. He was Saturn, and she was the ring looped around him. Completely bound and helpless for Betty Cooper.

She captured him so easily, he couldn't help but wonder how easy it would be for her to let him go.

Jughead pushed the thought to the back of his mind, and followed the blonde out the door.

**VII. uranus**

He should have known it was too good to be true.

Betty didn't understand him, not really. She wanted a second Archie, a replacement for the boy he could never be. The golden girl and her boy, the closest human embodiments of stars that one could get.

"...Or until Archie changes his mind and says he wants to be with you?" He let the truth slip, and watched her face crumble. He waited for her to yell at him, break up with him, anything.

But she walked away, and he knew he fucked up.

"Fuck," Jughead muttered and followed her. What was he thinking?

He lost her. The one good thing that had ever happened to him, and he crushed it like a meteor smashing into a planet.

Enter Chuck and Cheryl. Of course, when he wanted to leave his troubles behind, some more would come hurtling towards him.

"Out of my way, Chuck," He said. The only way to avoid fucking things up any further was to leave.

"You can't leave now," Cheryl smirked. "We haven't played our game yet."

He saw her out of the corner of his eye, just as he heard Cheryl say something about secrets getting out in the open.

She sat down in one of the three chairs provided for the game, next to Archie. Maybe to spite him, but probably not. Not like it mattered anymore, anyways.

Jughead took a nice spot away further away from everyone, and watched as the drama between the six started.

He didn't really register anything until Chuck started talking about her. Fucking dick.

As the words 'hooker' and 'drugged' rolled off his tongue, he saw the panic and tears swirling in her eyes. He felt the anger pump through his veins, but he knew he had to control it.

"...But you knew all about this–right, Jughead?" Chuck said with that fucking smirk.

Fuck control.

Jughead saw red, and imagined his fist was a meteor as he smashed it into Chuck's ugly ass face. Then he was being thrown into a glass table. He could hear gasps of panic, but he knew no one really gave a fuck about him.

Not even her. Why would she?

He had to leave, he needed to get away. Archie wouldn't have done this, he thought.

His dad interrupted his self-deprecating thoughts. "Don't run away from this. You've got something good here, with her."

Jughead wiped the blood off his face. Betty probably hated him, so there's no poi-

"She needs you."

Part of him wanted to keep running away, but he knew his dad was right. She needed him, and he needed her. He needed her probably more than she needed him, but it didn't matter.

He went inside the Andrews' home, and found her shaking in the doorway. She looked at him with her green, galactic eyes that were filled with tears. Because of him.

"Betts, I'm so sorry," He said urgently, panic rising in his chest. He hurt her.

"It's okay, it's okay. Can we just...get out of here?" She looked so fragile in that moment, so he just nodded and took her away.

They walked in silence to her mom's car, and drove to Pop's.

"I'm sorry," He whispered again after he stopped at a red light.

She squeezed his hand gently. "Shh, just drive."

They sat in the only empty booth left, and she ordered two milkshakes for them. He took off his infamous hat, and carefully put his arm behind her.

She gazed at him like he was an array of constellations, like he was more than this ugly, broken creature that didn't belong anywhere.

He moved away from her in order to open up to her. He felt so vulnerable in this little diner, in this booth. Never had he been so honest about his feelings before.

"Maybe I'm not used to it. Maybe I'm scared," He said, feeling nervous all of a sudden. She was still there when he finally got the courage to meet her eyes again.

She revealed her darkness to him then, and he understood the overwhelming feelings she was talking about. Then, she opened her hands for him to see.

Betty wasn't perfect. She wasn't this distant star or completely filled with sunshine. She was human. A girl with a dark side like the moon. She was like him.

He kissed her hands with all he had. He wished he could say something eloquent to comfort her, but all he could do was embrace her darkness.

She kissed him and pressed herself into his side. He held her as close as he could, never letting go of her hands.

Maybe neither of them were perfect, and both of them were scared. They may not be stars, but they were connected like a constellation.

And to him, that was better than being a perfect shining light.

**VIII. neptune**

Betrayal.

A feeling that Jughead Jones felt so many times throughout his young life, it was like an old friend to him.

"We knew he'd be at dinner with..." Veronica pauses in her sentence, and Jughead feels betrayal shattering his entire world.

He puts his hand over his mouth, wanting so badly to scream into it. He looks at her with hurt. He wants her to know how much pain he feels.

She claims innocence, but she knew. She knew and she didn't say anything to him. Hell, maybe she was lying to him this whole time about everything. Maybe he was just a pawn in her little investigation. Why invite him to write with her otherwise?

"To think I was gonna pass on moving to Toledo with my family _for you_ ," He whispers bitterly.

"W-what?" She stutters. Betty looks as broken as he feels, but despite the aching pain spreading through his chest, wanting to hold her, he holds his ground.

"When we visited my dad's trailer, you asked me if I believed him. I said I did, wasn't that good enough for you?" He asks in an accusing tone.

"It was, it was good enough," She insists. Damage control. "I tried to stop her."

"You could have told me, you could've warned me about all this," He says.

She looks so pitiful, and he almost wants to believe her. Almost. "You were so excited, Jug, I didn't want to disappoint you!"

"So instead you lied? You all lied to me?" He asks.

He sees her trying to apologize, but only sobs escape her as she mouths the words.

And then his universe completely plummets into darkness.

His dad is arrested for murder, and Jughead runs. This time, he doesn't have anyone holding him back. He has nothing good anymore with any of them, including Betty.

The trailer is the first thing he hits. He literally hits the table, rips the vile yellow tape, and cries into his palms. Palms, hands. He thinks of her, and the day she held his hands, insisting that she wouldn't let him become a scapegoat.

She always fought for him, until now.

When he stops crying, he looks up and feels nothing. Only numb. Somehow, though, he collects enough strength to stumble his way over to the payphone outside the bus station.

He calls his mother, as most people do when shit gets hard. Everyone always says their moms are there for them, and they can depend on them.

But Jughead will never know what that's like.

She rejects him once more, and of course nothing can go right for him anymore. He hangs up the phone and tries to stop himself from breaking down completely inside a phone booth.

He gets a bus ticket to Florida, knowing how far away it is. But it's not like anyone will miss him if he leaves. He walks to Pop's, hat and ticket in hand.

A blonde waitress sets a coffee in front of him, and he thinks of her. He tries not to, but he can't help it. She's always been his gravity, pulling him down to Earth. He feels so lost without her, but he knows why he can't turn to her now.

Then, the bell jingles. He hears Veronica, and someone sits next to him.

Betty. "Jug, we're so sorry...about everything." She's keeping her distance, and part of him is grateful that she understands he needs space. But another, large part of him just wants to pull her closer.

"That gun wasn't there when we searched the trailer," Veronica reveals. "Someone put it there when we left."

He looks at Betty for confirmation, and when she nods, he believes her. His dad might be innocent, and he feels a glimmer of hope.

But when he wakes up the next day, he realizes how fleeting hope is.

She tries to convince him that his dad really is innocent, completely stuck on the theory even though she doesn't have evidence.

"If my dad didn't kill Jason, then who did?" He asks, trying to get her to stop entertaining this idea. "I've been waiting my whole life for that man to do the right thing, but I'm done. You should be too."

He walks away from her a second time. Again, he has no father to stop him and remind him of goodness.

There's nothing left to tether him to the ground, and he simply floats away.

**IX. pluto**

Betty Cooper is nothing if not determined.

And he loves her for it. Loves her for never giving up on anything, especially him.

She believed him when no one else did. She believed his dad when no one else did, and she still does. She believed in herself when he was too foolish to do so. She believed in their relationship even when he was being the biggest asshole in existence.

She believes in it now, even as he tries to draw away from himself and everyone, distancing himself. He is Pluto, spinning away from the Sun.

"I love you, Betty Cooper," He repeats for the thousandth time that night. She grins, and he returns it. It's the widest he's ever smiled, he thinks.

"I love you too, Jughead Jones...or should I say, Forsythe Pendl-"

"Nope!" He exclaims and kisses her to shut her up, making her giggle. She wraps her arms around his neck, and he has never felt so alive.

"Love you, Juggie," She smiles, and kisses his cheek. She pulls back to look into his eyes, and he gazes into her green ones like they're at a planetarium and she is the spectacle.

"Betts...thank you for never giving up on me," He says seriously, because he needs her to know.

She looks at him like he's crazy. "You don't have to thank me for that."

"I do. I was terrible to you when you didn't deserve it, and even then you stayed loyal to me and my dad."

"First of all, you never treated me terribly. If you had, I wouldn't be with you right now. We're both...well, pretty fucked up, Jug. There's no denying that, but everything we've endured together has made us stronger. And secondly, I will always defend you. Same goes for FP. I know how much your dad means to you."

He stares at her for a moment, as if he's soaking in her words. "I don't want to lose you, Betty."

She lets him rest his head on her chest, as she plays with his fingers. "Me neither. This Southside thing is going to be hard, but I need you, Juggie. I'm not going to let anyone or anything split us apart."

"I know you won't. I believe in you, Betty. Always."

They fall asleep there, and when he wakes up, sunlight is streaming through his window. It's like a spotlight for the girl next to him, and her golden hair shines under the rays.

He tries to move, but she tightens her grip around him.

"No...Juggie...stay, I want you..." She mumbles in her sleep, and he smiles radiantly. He pulls her closer, and she settles into his chest.

Betty Cooper always kept him grounded. She was his gravity, and he loved her for it.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading!! I'm probably gonna write a version of this in Betty's pov, if anyone's interested.
> 
> as always, here are my social things:  
> twitter: @celesticalum  
> tumblr: thatfangirlingfreak


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